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ECW Championship
The ECW Championship was a world heavyweight championship. The title was the highest ranked championship of the Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion. After ECW went bankrupt in 2001, the belt was retired, but World Wrestling Entertainment would bring it back as the main title for the newly launched ECW Brand. When the brand was discontinued, the belt was retired once again. History The ECW Heavyweight Championship was originally a National Wrestling Alliance title known as the Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) Heavyweight Championship. However, in 1994, the ECW Heavyweight Champion, Shane Douglas, was entered into a tournament for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On August 27, he defeated 2 Cold Scorpio in the tournament final to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but immediately relinquished it and instead proclaimed himself the new ECW World Heavyweight Champion. Days later, Eastern Championship Wrestling left the National Wrestling Alliance as the name of the promotion was changed to Extreme Championship Wrestling, thus the title became known as the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) World Heavyweight Championship. The title officially gained its "World" status on August 27, 1999 after years of being defended internationally against challengers from around the world and remained active until April 11, 2001 when World Wrestling Entertainment subsequently purchased the promotion after its closure. The title was reactivated following WWE's decision to revive Extreme Championship Wrestling as a third brand. Prior to One Night Stand 2006, Paul Heyman stated that if Rob Van Dam was to win the WWE Championship at One Night Stand, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship would replace the WWE Championship. When Rob Van Dam went on to defeat John Cena for the WWE Championship at the event, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship was presented to Rob Van Dam by Paul Heyman during the premiere episode of the new ECW brand. However, Rob Van Dam stated that he would continue to use both titles and remain WWE Champion while being the new ECW World Heavyweight Champion. Weeks later, the ECW World Heavyweight title belt was replaced with a new similar belt that features the new ECW logo and new plates. The title was then renamed the ECW World Championship around the start of The Big Show's reign to avoid confusion with the SmackDown! brand's World Heavyweight Championship. Around the time of John Morrison's reign, the title was simply referred to as the ECW Championship. The championship has yet to regain world title status from PWI. After Mark Henry defeated Kane at The Great American Bash 2008 to win the championship, it received a new design. The belt was now all-black and heavier and broader than its progenitors. WWE would maintain this design until they deactivated the belt. The ECW Championship remained contested until WWE announced that they were discontinuing the brand in early 2010. The championship was contested for the last time on February 16, 2010, which is when ECW of SyFy's last show aired. Ezekiel Jackson would defeat Christian for the title in an Extreme Rules match. After that, WWE Chairman & CEO Mr. McMahon announced that the brand was discontinued for good. Jackson is recognized as the brand's final champion. Category:Singles Championships Category:Professional wrestling Championships Category:Extreme Championship Wrestling Championships Category:World Wrestling Entertainment Championships